"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Mr. Bass of Arkansas
May 25th, 2008
Arkansas River (Little Rock Pool)
Angler: Frank Leone (Amateur Division)
6th place - 4 bass - 6.87 pounds - $254.00
Practice: Saturday, May 24th: I practiced with Dylan Hawkins. He was hot off of his Mr. Bass
victory on Lake Dardanelle. Since he had limited experience on this pool of the river, his goal was
to look for areas where he could catch a mixed bag of spotted bass and largemouth. We fished
Pool 7, and it wasn't long before had our first experience with Arkansas River sand. Luckily we
were idling and the boat pushed off of the bar pretty easily. We started fishing backwater areas and
found them to be pretty much dead. We caught a fish or two on jigs and spinnerbaits, but it just
didn't feel right. Off to the river. Dylan started catching keeper kentuckies on a jig in predictable
places, so things were looking up. We spent much of the day just looking at areas he could fish
during the tournament. Seemed like he had worked out a pattern that should produce a 5 bass limit.
Pairing Meeting: I was paired with Michael Puckett. Michael said he wasn't on any fish and had a
tough practice. He said that we were just going to go fishing. From my practice with Dylan and
conversations I had with Get5's Jeremy Risley, I figured my best bet to put some keepers in the
boat would be to throw a Jewel Eakins' Jig all day long.
Tournament: Michael said that we were going to stay in the Little Rock Pool, which sounded great
to me. I had been locked out in a BFL several years ago and know how it feels to get "locked out" of
a check. We started fishing jetties close to the ramp. On the second jettie we came to, I broke the
ice with a 13" inch spotted bass. That first fish always feels great!!! As we continued, I found it
strange that we weren't getting more bites. The areas looked great but it seemed the fish were not
in feeding mode. We had a scary moment early on. Mike hit a rock pile with his trolling motor and
got thrown out of the boat. I quickly got his net and lunged forward with it towards him. He grabbed
it and was able to get back in the boat. That's scary in 70,000 CFS!!!!. We continued fishing
without much luck. Mike decided that we should lock up into Pool 7, so we headed for the dam and
pulled the chain. No response. We started fishing around the lock on some rocks while we waited. I
managed to catch a 12-inch Kentucky, and we finally decided that they weren't going to let us
through. We then headed downriver to look at some backwater areas. We got to one and the water
coming out of it looked clear, which at that point looked like a great change of pace. Michael started
throwing a spinnerbait and quickly nailed a nice 3-pounder. Things were looking up!!! We
continued fishing in there for the next hour and a half and a caught several short fish. We were
working our way out, and happened to come across a couple of docked barges. Their was good
shade around them and it looked like a great place to pitch a jig. That's when I got a break. I flipped
to the back of a barge and a 3-pounder came flying out of there. We got the fish in the boat and I
told Mike that I needed one more fish to get in check range. On the next pitch, I thought I had the
one I needed but it turned out to be a 14-incher. We worked our way out and headed back to the
River. Around 2:00 we hit a straight rock bank with an eddie and I set the hook on a solid
largemouth. I boat flipped her and yelled "Yeesssssss" while pumping my fist. I'm sure Mike thought
I was a freak, but I was pumped!!! I really wanted a check in this one after what happened last week
at DeGray. Anyway, we fished hard for the next hour and a half, but we couldn't put another keeper
in the boat.
Frank's Keeper Count: Jewel Eakins' Jig (5/16 oz. Black/Blue Flash, 5/16 oz. Missouri Craw): 4 keepers
Final Thoughts: A very tough day of fishing. I figured the fish would be biting better, but I think the
drop in water levels had them running scared. Anyway, I was really happy with the end result. Mike
put us in position to catch fish and that's all you can ask for...........
See ya' on the flip side.......
Frank Leone
May 25th, 2008
Arkansas River (Little Rock Pool)
Angler: Frank Leone (Amateur Division)
6th place - 4 bass - 6.87 pounds - $254.00
Practice: Saturday, May 24th: I practiced with Dylan Hawkins. He was hot off of his Mr. Bass
victory on Lake Dardanelle. Since he had limited experience on this pool of the river, his goal was
to look for areas where he could catch a mixed bag of spotted bass and largemouth. We fished
Pool 7, and it wasn't long before had our first experience with Arkansas River sand. Luckily we
were idling and the boat pushed off of the bar pretty easily. We started fishing backwater areas and
found them to be pretty much dead. We caught a fish or two on jigs and spinnerbaits, but it just
didn't feel right. Off to the river. Dylan started catching keeper kentuckies on a jig in predictable
places, so things were looking up. We spent much of the day just looking at areas he could fish
during the tournament. Seemed like he had worked out a pattern that should produce a 5 bass limit.
Pairing Meeting: I was paired with Michael Puckett. Michael said he wasn't on any fish and had a
tough practice. He said that we were just going to go fishing. From my practice with Dylan and
conversations I had with Get5's Jeremy Risley, I figured my best bet to put some keepers in the
boat would be to throw a Jewel Eakins' Jig all day long.
Tournament: Michael said that we were going to stay in the Little Rock Pool, which sounded great
to me. I had been locked out in a BFL several years ago and know how it feels to get "locked out" of
a check. We started fishing jetties close to the ramp. On the second jettie we came to, I broke the
ice with a 13" inch spotted bass. That first fish always feels great!!! As we continued, I found it
strange that we weren't getting more bites. The areas looked great but it seemed the fish were not
in feeding mode. We had a scary moment early on. Mike hit a rock pile with his trolling motor and
got thrown out of the boat. I quickly got his net and lunged forward with it towards him. He grabbed
it and was able to get back in the boat. That's scary in 70,000 CFS!!!!. We continued fishing
without much luck. Mike decided that we should lock up into Pool 7, so we headed for the dam and
pulled the chain. No response. We started fishing around the lock on some rocks while we waited. I
managed to catch a 12-inch Kentucky, and we finally decided that they weren't going to let us
through. We then headed downriver to look at some backwater areas. We got to one and the water
coming out of it looked clear, which at that point looked like a great change of pace. Michael started
throwing a spinnerbait and quickly nailed a nice 3-pounder. Things were looking up!!! We
continued fishing in there for the next hour and a half and a caught several short fish. We were
working our way out, and happened to come across a couple of docked barges. Their was good
shade around them and it looked like a great place to pitch a jig. That's when I got a break. I flipped
to the back of a barge and a 3-pounder came flying out of there. We got the fish in the boat and I
told Mike that I needed one more fish to get in check range. On the next pitch, I thought I had the
one I needed but it turned out to be a 14-incher. We worked our way out and headed back to the
River. Around 2:00 we hit a straight rock bank with an eddie and I set the hook on a solid
largemouth. I boat flipped her and yelled "Yeesssssss" while pumping my fist. I'm sure Mike thought
I was a freak, but I was pumped!!! I really wanted a check in this one after what happened last week
at DeGray. Anyway, we fished hard for the next hour and a half, but we couldn't put another keeper
in the boat.
Frank's Keeper Count: Jewel Eakins' Jig (5/16 oz. Black/Blue Flash, 5/16 oz. Missouri Craw): 4 keepers
Final Thoughts: A very tough day of fishing. I figured the fish would be biting better, but I think the
drop in water levels had them running scared. Anyway, I was really happy with the end result. Mike
put us in position to catch fish and that's all you can ask for...........
See ya' on the flip side.......
Frank Leone